The Beta
by KiraKira-Kirimi
Summary: Black Hayate's POV about his 'pack'. Roy x Riza, Ed x Winry


**Sora: **Hello! I'm trying something a little unique in this fanfiction - I'm writing it from Black Hayate's POV! Black Hayate RULES, and I only felt it fair.

**Edward:** Pssht. No one wants to read about a _dog's _point of view.

**Sora:** Shut up, _shorty_.

**Edward:** ARGH!

**Sora: **types something quickly on the computer

**Edward:** freezes in midair and finds himself quite unable to move Huh? WHAT THE? WHAT DID YOU DO?

**Sora: **You should know better than to attack the authoress! . Now, on with the story!

Oh, and one more thing. I used some terminology about wolf packs in here, so let me just clear it up. There are two alphas in a wolf pack - a male and a female - and they both have the same status. (Wolves aren't sexist) Following that is the beta wolf, the second in command. The omega is the lowest member of a pack, and normally harassed and constantly reminded of its place, but it is cared for and loved by the rest of the pack just the same.

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Black Hayate had never known a time when their pack was not a pack of two. It was just him, the beta, and Riza, the alpha female. It was a strange pack, because he should have automatically been the alpha male, but something told him that was not his place. He did not mind, however, because he was content with the place of the beta.

There was one other who sometimes took the place of alpha male, and he was both part of and not part of the pack at the same time; he did not stay long enough to permanently hold the position of alpha male, but as much as he came and went, he was always welcome. Black Hayate thought of him as a welcome loner, and he, too, loved the loner's visits; the loner, Roy, always played with him or brought along a biscuit or two.

Whenever Riza looked at Roy, a scent tickled Black Hayate's nose. It was not strong, but it was meaningful, and he puzzled over the joy his instincts associated with the scent. As time went on, the scent grew stronger, and Black Hayate realized that it was a warm smell, caring and affectionate, but unlike the love-scent he smelled when Roy or Riza played fetch with him, this was the love-scent his instincts told him existed only between mates. Black Hayate's tail wagged furiously whenever this thought came to mind; Roy would be good for the pack, and expansion was always a good thing.

Soon, Roy was staying full-time with the pack, and Black Hayate could smell the love-scent flowing off of him even more than it flowed off of Riza. Many loners came to visit, all happy and jovial, with many festivities. This made sense to Black Hayate; in his mind, the expansion of his pack was so wonderful that even loners he could not remember should be celebrating.

A few months later, a new scent overcame Riza, and Black Hayate knew instantly that the pack was growing again. He was eager to assume the new duties that would fall upon him, the beta, with this next growth of his pack, and he began to shadow Riza constantly, unless she or Roy demanded otherwise. He may be beta, second in-command, but an alpha's word was law.

Loner visits began to increase again, just as jovial, if not more so, than the last time, and they continued even after the birth of the female human-pup. Black Hayate eagerly threw himself into his new babysitting duties, and he constantly positioned himself right next to the pup Roy and Riza called "Elizabeth". Black Hayate watched every loner carefully that came near to the pup, making sure that no loner had ill-intent. As beta, it was his duty, as much as it was Roy's or Riza's, to make sure that no harm ever came to the future of his pack.

Immediately after Elizabeth came into the pack, Roy and Riza began to stay home during the day. A week later, however, Roy went back to working with the military, and Riza followed a few months later. When she, too, returned to work, they began to drop Elizabeth off with another pack for the daytime, whose alpha-female's scent of new-pup made Black Hayate sneeze. Black Hayate did not mind handing his babysitting duties over to this foreign female, however; at the military, he had different duties.

When Elizabeth was eight months old, she grew ill, developing little marks all over her skin that she constantly scratched. Roy and Riza took turns staying home with her, and Black Hayate did not leave for the military once throughout Elizabeth's illness.

It was during this time, when it was Riza's turn to stay home, that Elizabeth's life was gravely threatened, and not by the illness that plague her. Riza had gone downstairs to make herself a cup of tea when the window of the nursery rattled and sprung open. Black Hayate climbed to his feet beside Elizabeth's crib, watching the window intently. Through the opening climbed a black-clad man, a knife in hand, and a secretive scent of fear coming off him in waves. He leapt into the room, catlike, but failed to land clear of one of Elizabeth's playthings, and the resulting _thud_ woke Elizabeth, who immediately began to wail in protest of her interrupted nap. At the sound of her cries, the man turned and raised his knife, his scent of fear increasing, and anger mingling with it.

Black Hayate knew then that this man intended harm, and he flew forward, a snarling bundle of black fur and teeth. He drove the man into a corning, furiously battling him and keeping away from Elizabeth. His teeth tore every bit of the man that he could find, and he snarled with the anger of a thousand wolves.

The door flew open, and a gunshot rang out, sending the knife flying out of the would-be thief's hand. Riza had been summoned by the combined screams of her pup and the snarls of her beta, and she knew immediately what had happened. "Put your hands up," Riza commanded coldly over Elizabeth's cries. She reached in her pocket and withdrew a vial of a clear fluid, and, opening it, she positioned it under the man's nose. "Smell this, and if you try anything funny, the dog will rip out your throat."

The thief refused at first, smirking, "Who are you to tell me what to do, missy?"

Riza's eyes narrowed. "I am Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and, more importantly, the mother of the child you tried to slaughter. Sniff."

The thief paled and obliged, clearly not wanting to have to face the wrath of an angry mother with a firearms license. Immediately, his eyes rolled upwards, and he slumped back against the wall.

Riza examined him closely for a moment, and when she had confirmed his lack of consciousness, she turned to Elizabeth's crib, where her daughter was still wailing incessantly. Lifting Elizabeth from her bed, she comforted the child gently, hushing her back to sleep.

When Elizabeth, stubborn not to return to her nap after so much excitement, had finally calmed to cooing happily, Riza took out her cellphone, speed-dialing the military.

"Hello? This is Second Lieutentant Hawkeye . . . yes. May I speak to General Mustang? Yes, of course." Black Hayate whined anxiously as the thief twitched, but the man was clearly out cold, and Riza ignored him. "Roy? Yes, it's me. We had an attempted burglary . . . we're fine; don't worry about us. I just need someone to watch Elizabeth while I drive the thief to the police. All right. Love you, too."

Having finished her conversation, Riza snapped the phone shut and gave Black Hayate one of her rare, loving looks that she usually reserved for her pups and Roy. The pride that shone from her eyes made Black Hayate's tail thump wildly against the floor, and his heart filled with joy at having done his duty to the pack well.

The next two years were filled with the pride and joy of watching young Elizabeth grow into a beautiful young girl. She was a calm child and not extremely energetic, but he loved every bit of her. She was family and the future of the pack.

However, then a somewhat-familiar scent began to tickle Black Hayate's nose, signaling another expansion of the pack. He was not as naively excited at the thought like the last time he had detected the scent, but he felt his heart would burst with pride just the same.

This time, the alphas brought home two male pups, whom he quickly came to realize had each at least three times the energy of their older sister. The new pups were much more demanding than Elizabeth, and were constantly giving the pack massive headaches, but they were welcomed happily just the same. Ryan and Kevin had driven the population of the pack to six.

By now, Black Hayate had come to know another pack as almost a second half of his own. The alphas were a pair of blonde humans, and the male was surprisingly short. The female smelled strongly of oil, but although it repulsed Black Hayate at first, he had long since grown used to it. Black Hayate eventually came to know that they were called Edward and Winry, and it was clear that they were good friends of his alphas.

Edward and Winry, too, had a young pup, who was about the same age as Ryan and Kevin. She was called Nita, and surprised her pack by choosing to play with trucks rather than dolls and such. Black Hayate thought she was quite right to do so; the dolls didn't really do much, but the trucks _rolled _and were fun to chase down hills.

The beta of Edward and Winry's pack was an extremely old dog named Den, and he was always tired and slow. However, he was very tolerant of little Nita, and was a very good babysitter for her, although Black Hayate secretly thought that he was a much better beta.

Although Roy and Riza had no more pups, Edward and Winry did have one more a year later. It was a young female by the name of Aria, and she was by far the sweetest and meekest pup of either of the packs. Black Hayate was thankful, for her sake, that the role of the bullied omega did not exist in the human's packs - Aria had a distinctly omega personality.

The pups of both packs became close friends, each taking up a role in their circle of playmates. Elizabeth became very responsible and mother-like, taking gentle care of little Aria, as the twins and Nita became constant troublemakers who gave Black Hayate a definite challenge to keep an eye on them all. Den helped him for a while whenever the pups were together, but tradgedy struck when Aria was three years old.

Den was a very old dog at this point, and it was ironic that he was killed by a passing car when he chased a stray dog away from their house. Everyone had expected him to die quietly in his sleep, as he did little but nap all day, and the sudden death took everyone by surprise. Both packs felt his loss deeply, but they each recovered on their own time.

Black Hayate knew that he would one day go the same way as Den; he could already feel the fatigue and weariness in his limbs, and the prospect of play exhausted him more than ever. But he had duties to his pack, and he refused to show his growing age.

His facade was ruined, however, when he lost consciousness at the military headquarters eight months after Den's death. The veterenarian told Riza sadly that Black Hayate had grown too old to be a military dog any longer and that it was time for him to retire. Riza agreed regretfully, and Black Hayate became a full-time family dog.

But Riza had worked so long with her canine partner that her services to the military seemed to be lacking in a certain _je ne sais pas, _and it was clear to everyone she worked with that she greatly missed Black Hayate. It did not help that Black Hayate, confused as to why he was to stay home every day, tried to sneak out with her every time Riza went to work. Only two weeks after Black Hayate was retired, Roy came home with a surprise for Riza - a new puppy.

It was a white, perky-eyed female pup, and although Riza had wanted to name it White Hayate, the pack eventually agreed on Bambi (despite her lack of being a deer). Black Hayate welcomed her, for she was still not the beta or threatening his position in the pack.

Two years later, Black Hayate died in his sleep, but he felt no remorse; he had served his pack well, and he had watched it grow from two members to six. The pack would live on, healthier than he could have ever dreamed.

**OWARI.**

**A/N:** I was thinking of writing this out fully, in normal POV, so tell me what you think. It will have more humor in the second version, if I do write it.


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